Various anchoring or restraint methods are known for securing automotive vehicles to a flat-bed transport vehicle to prevent shifting of the automotive vehicles during shipment to a delivery location. In one such method, a plurality of flexible, inextensible restraint members such as chains or straps are used to tie the vehicle downwardly to the floor of the transport vehicle. One end of each tie-down member is attached to the vehicle frame or to one of the vehicle's tires, and the other end is fastened to the floor of the transport vehicle. The tie-down members are then tightened, for example by means of hand-operated winch mechanisms on each of the members.
The tie-down member is usually secured to the floor of the transporter by means of a hook attached to the end of the member. Some transporters have floors made of perforated metal decking, in which case the hooks are passed through a hole at the correct location. Other transporters have one or more rails extending in a longitudinal direction, the rails having holes or rungs with which the hooks may be engaged.
Some railway cars for transporting vehicles have multiple levels to increase the number of vehicles that may be carried on a single car. In order to decrease the weight of the railway car, the floors of the upper level are sometimes made of a welded wire mesh or grid. The grid is typically made up of approximately 3/8" diameter steel wires spaced from one another on 11/2" centers. In the past, when it has been necessary to secure the hook of a tie-down member to such a grid floor, the hook has simply been passed around one of the wires. Accordingly, the hook transfers the tension force of the tie-down member hook as a point load on only one wire. Such a highly concentrated loading may tend to bend the wire and/or weaken the weld or welds between wires adjacent the point of attachment.